Taking Flight

Today was a momentous day at The Farmhouse.  A day I have anticipated for 5 months.  A day I have planned and dreamed about.  A day that a pig took flight!

Here is another view.

I am now complete! Pigs do fly - at least at The Farmhouse they do.

As I am still catching my breath, I have much to report.  The grass has come in thick and lush.

Today the insulators started.  The first step is this stuff:

Pretty gross, huh?  They spray this type of of insulation into the basement and under the creepy places of the house.  No snakes were found upon inspection!

Here is good view of the new duct work running under the house. We also had the crawl space foamed so we no longer have a dirt floor down there.  Remember it is an OLD house! Tomorrow they will put the fluffy pink stuff into the inside walls.

I was so excited about the weather vane and cupola that I whipped up a batch of pumpkin muffins for the boys.

The front door has been installed as well. This is the "statement" door Cliff picked up at Southern Sales Services a few months back.  Of course now we have get that fancy schmancy door knob for the fabulous door. It never ends does it?  It occurred to me today that I know the store layouts at both Lowes and Home Depot but couldn't tell you where the shoe department is at Nordstroms.

Drywall next week.  Keep your fingers crossed!  Thanks for stopping by.

Busy Beavers

The Farmhouse is a busy, busy place. The electricians are stringing wire and putting in the recessed lighting.  The whole addition has been wired.

The outlets have been installed.

The HVAC guys have left us a nice gift.

 It may be a Farmhouse, but it will have air conditioning!

The Fireplace has been installed, too.

This is a two sided fireplace, gas of course.

Cliff and I have been busy painting.

I painted this decorative vent black.  It came in the same color as the siding so we decided to paint it to match the other one on the house.  Remember how this window looked?

We also painted the trim to match the rest of the windows.  Here is the after:

Looking good!

Another window with painted trim.

We have met with several landscapers about some hardscaping for the house.  We need to have a few steps and walkways done.  We also need a fence for Bella.  Amazingly, I get the guys to come out and take measurements, but then they dissapear! Never to be heard from again.  I want to give "the little"guy the business but it's hard to do when they won't call you back. And speaking of Bella, if you are not a Facebook reader you may have missed this:

This is called Dog Shaming!

Thanks for stopping by.

Siding and Such

They have started putting siding on the new part of the house.   So far I like the way it looks.

We tried to match the color and look of the original siding, but chose to go with vinyl siding since it is maintenance free and less moolah!  Cliff has decided that we should paint the trim around the windows to match the rest of the house.  Yesterday we went and taped around the windows and as I write this he is down at the Farmhouse painting. Hey somebody has to stay home and write this blog.

This is the beaded trim on the ceiling of the west porch.  Doesn't it sound grand when I call it that?

Cliff dahling bring me my lemonade on the west porch:)

On the inside the plumbers have finished the rough in work and the HVAC guys are putting in venting and such.  Tomorrow we meet with the electrician to decide where the lighting should go.

We actually have a settlement date for this house and it looks like we should be moving in in about 6 weeks.

Wes - you better hurry up.  I plan on making Oatmeal Raisin cookies later as incentive.

In other exciting news grass is starting to grow!  Look closely and you can see little sproutlets coming up.

On an unrelated topic I had a very scary morning yesterday.  I woke to two very menacing eyes and a maniacal smile looking right at me.  Not two inches from my face.  Was I dreaming?

Bella's "baby".  I know it does not look frightening, but try waking up to this in your face!

Thanks for stopping by.

My Beloved Bella

Tomorrow Bella turns Three Years Old.  For those of you who don't know the story of how Bella came into our lives I will brief you.  For 21 years our family had Bernese Mountain Dogs.  We owned 3 Berners over 21 years.  Do the math - while a wonderful breed of dog, they are not long lived.  Our first Berner was Duncan.  He only lived 3 years until he came down with cancer.  Our next Bernese was Dakota and he lived to the ripe old age of 12.  This is very long for a Berner.  Finally, there was Tucker.  Tucker was much loved and very popular as he often went to Josh's lacrosse games both at high school and college.  Sadly at the age of 6 Tucker was diagnosed with kidney failure and went quickly.

I must also mention my "heart dog" Timber.  An Aussie/Lab mix who lived for 14 fantastic years.  He lived with both Dakota and Tucker.

Timber was my once in a lifetime dog. I can't say any more.

Now back to Bella.  After losing Tucker we just couldn't get another Berner. Maybe one day in the future, but after that loss we thought it time to try a different breed.  I searched online day and night looking for my next love.  One day I opened the newspaper and saw an ad for a 6 month old Golden Retriever.  The ad stated she was sweet and housebroken!  I went downstairs and told Cliff that I had just found our next dog.  We went to meet Bella at her home in Phoenix, Maryland.  She greeted us with a blue stuffed elephant in her mouth and we fell in love.  Her "parents" decided they were not in "the mood" for a puppy.  Our gain! We brought her home the next day and she has been my sidekick since that day in March.  I can't describe the joy that this Blondie brings to my life. We walk together, she goes to Starbucks with me and every night we have "love love time" - I know it sounds weird, but really it's just time for her to lay in bed with us and talk about our day :) When the lights go out she has to hop off and sleep on her own bed.  Bella has made me a better person. We joined Pets On Wheels and Bella became certified as a Therapy dog. We visit the elderly at Weinberg Village.  I can not believe the joy she brings to the residents. Before Bella I never really saw myself as someone who would visit with elderly people, but I find I really enjoy talking to them and listening to their stories about their past pets.  I know if I am ever in a "home" and a dog is coming to visit I will be the first one in line! Bella also participates in Agility class weekly.  If you've never seen dog agility look it up.  It's a lot of fun and good exercise, too.

We even competed in 2 agility competitions. If you ever want a good laugh go watch an agility trial.  It's basically a bunch of middle aged (or older) woman running around with dogs.  Crazy stuff, but good clean fun.

I have been accused of animal abuse.

OK - I like hats on dogs.

And horses!

OK I admit I may be just a touch kooky.  But come on you know this is funny.

Anyhoo - I just wanted to let you know about my Bella.  If you love a dog, then you get it.

The Farmhouse is coming along, too.  Just felt like writing about my canine child on this the eve of her birthday!

Thanks for stopping by.

In Praise of Second Chance

There is a great organization in Baltimore called Second Chance. Second Chance is a huge warehouse filled with salvaged goods from homes, businesses and other outfits.  They also sell furniture and just about anything you can imagine.  They employ people who are desperately in need of a second chance.  They help them turn their lives around.

On Friday 3 men from Second Chance came to take our old bedroom set, our living room chairs and some office furniture. I was so impressed  by the three men that came to take the furniture.  They were pleasant, polite and the hardest workers I have ever seen.  A true testament to this organization.  Give them a try!

 

 

We now have two front porches .

This is the East porch.

And...this is the West porch.

Come, sit a spell!

The lot is now graded and seeded.

The plumbers have been plumbing and the HVAC guys have been out and will start putting in

ducts and other important things next week.  As you know I am a big fan of Reality TV....so, last week I was watching Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis and got a big idea.  Jeff created a decorative wall using reclaimed wood. We have a little area that is too small to be called an actual room, so I have decided to make it my

rustic focal point interior foyer.  Ever heard of one of these? Doubt it!  Anyway I asked my new friend Josh at Freestate Timbers for some ideas and boy oh boy did he have plenty!  Josh introduced me to reclaimed skins.  Now don't go thinking these skins have anything to do with animals, they are taken from old beams, barns or even pickle barrels. Cool huh?  The "skins" are 5/8" pieces of distressed lumber.  I hope to hang them horizontally in my new RFPIF (rustic focal point interior foyer).  Can't you just see it? Maybe two small chandelier sconces and a mirror over a console table.  Oh please stop me I am drooling.

The RFPIF area.  Don't forget those beams on the ceiling.  I want them wrapped in wood, too.

When you are not busy reading this blog head over to Houzz and search for rustic wall ideas, you'll see.

Help me! My head is spinning - if you guys have any ideas please share!

Thanks for stopping by.